1.) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus for opening and closing a door of a vehicle.
2.) Description of the Related Art
In a vehicle, an apparatus for opening and closing a door that releases an engagement of a fully closing holding unit with a striker in a vehicle body to allow a door to be opened is equipped. The engagement is released when a user operates an outside knob provided on an outer-side vehicle door panel (hereinafter, “outer panel”) or an inside knob provided on an inner-side vehicle door panel (hereinafter, “inner panel”). Typical apparatus for opening and closing a door includes a control unit common for the outside knob and the inside knob, being arranged between the outside and inside knobs and the fully closing holding unit. The control unit is attached to, for example, the inner panel, and controls to open the door in response to an operation of the outside knob or of the inside knob by transmitting a door opening operation to the fully closing holding unit. The control unit thereby disengages the fully closing holding unit from the striker.
Generally, the vehicle door is equipped with an opening/closing member, such as a window glass. The opening/closing member is arranged to be vertically movable between the outer panel and the inner panel. The opening/closing member is moved vertically to open or close the window when, for example, a regulator knob or a regulator switch is operated.
In such a door that includes the opening/closing member, it is necessary to prepare a space for the opening/closing member to be moved (hereinafter, “opening/closing movement area”) between the outer panel and the inner panel. As a result, a space for the apparatus is limited between the outer panel and the inner panel, and a connecting unit that transmits the operation of the outside knob to the control unit cannot be arranged in a straight line. Therefore, the connecting unit is arranged in such a manner that the connecting unit detours the opening/closing movement area. In a conventional technology, a link unit, such as a bell-crank, is arranged in an area closer to a front side of the vehicle than the opening/closing movement area, and the operation of the outside knob is transmitted to the control unit through the link unit. Such a method is disclosed in, for example, Japanese Utility Model Application Laid-Open No. H7-6395 and Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2001-1759.
As a related technology, a method in which the outside knob is connected to the control unit by a wire cable is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. S63-47480. The wire cable is bent outside of the opening/closing movement area.
However, in the method using the link unit such as the bell-crank, a smooth operation of the apparatus cannot be ensured unless the outside knob, the control unit, and the link unit are arranged at accurate positions. This requires not only accurate positioning of each of components at an assembly, but also an inspection and adjustment after the assembly. As a result, it becomes considerably complicated to manufacture the apparatus.
On the other hand, in the method using the wire cable, even if a positional deviation occurs between the outside knob and the control unit, the wire cable can absorb the positional deviation. Therefore, it is not that complicated to manufacture the apparatus, compared to the technology described above.
However, the wire cable bent may not always be operated smoothly. In addition, the wire cables may possibly cause occurrence of a transmission loss when the operation at the outside knob is transmitted to the control unit, resulting a trouble that the control unit cannot accurately perform the operation to open the door.
The above problems occur not only between the outside knob and the control unit, but also between the inside knob and the control unit if the control unit is arranged on the outer panel.